Pew: 51 percent of Americans view the NSA favorably

[Lucille]

Pathetic.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-01-23/fight-club-1776


CSM-- A new poll from Pew Research Center suggests that, so far at least, Snowden's release of information on NSA programs has had a limited effect on how the agency is viewed by the American public.

The Pew survey, conducted Jan. 7-11, asked respondents about their views of various federal agencies, breaking down responses by sex, political affiliation, and age. It found that 51 percent of Americans view the NSA favorably – down from 54 percent in fall 2013 – while only 37 percent have unfavorable views of the agency.

WB7

Which once again confirms that which we already know: We are essentially a nation of clueless morons who consider the PSI of a pro football and Kim Kardashian's oversized iButt to be of greater social importance than all else, the systematic derogation of our constitutional rights by the DC Vichycrats and the greatest financial fraud ever perpetrated on the American public to name just two examples.

Remember the notion that Congress was going to reform the NSA. I believe that ridiculous pipe dream now sits on the lameduck Q somewhere behind Twitter Community College and rescuing the phantom middle class.

If you have not yet watched Citizen Four, I strongly recommend that you do.

And yes Ed Snowden, we remember...

http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Security-Watch/Backchannels/2015/0122/In-post-Snowden-era-NSA-maintains-surprisingly-favorable-image


It found that 51 percent of Americans view the NSA favorably – down from 54 percent in fall 2013 – while 37 percent have unfavorable views of the agency.

To be sure, the NSA isn't exactly popular. The only federal agency less popular among Americans was the Internal Revenue Service, which was viewed favorably by only 45 percent of Americans and was the only one in which "unfavorable" views topped favorable ones, at 48 percent. The most popular federal agencies were the Centers for Disease Control, with 70 percent "favorable," and NASA, with 68 percent.

In the latest survey, there were substantial differences in views among different cohorts. Perhaps surprisingly, younger Americans have a more favorable view of the NSA than older ones. Among adults under the age of 30, 61 percent view the NSA favorably. That drops to 55 percent among Americans 30-49 years old and to 40 percent for Americans over 65.

Only 47 percent of Republicans view the NSA well, against 58 percent of Democrats, which may reflect which party controls the presidency, though partisan views of the CIA are flipped. About 64 percent of Republicans approve of the CIA, while just 46 percent of Democrats do. Last year, the CIA and the then-Democrat controlled Senate Intelligence Committee tussled over releasing documents related to the CIA's post-9/11 torture program. In March, Dianne Feinstein, then head of the committee, publicly alleged the CIA had targeted the computers of her staffers working on the torture report.

Independents hold a 49 percent favorable view of the NSA. About 53 percent of American women favor the NSA, while 49 percent of men do.

[Suzanimal]

51 percent of Americans view the NSA favorably

Dumb asses.


Internal Revenue Service, which was viewed favorably by only 45 percent of Americans

"only" Da fuq???

[acptulsa]

Oh, look! Another Pepe le Pew Poll!

http://vignette4.wikia.nocookie.net/looneytunes/images/d/d9/Pepe_Le_Pew.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20140522164546





What's that smell...?

[otherone]

51%...

"Pewarchy":
Government by public opinion poll

[Dr.3D]

Oh, look! Another Pepe le Pew Poll!

http://vignette4.wikia.nocookie.net/looneytunes/images/d/d9/Pepe_Le_Pew.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20140522164546





What's that smell...?
http://i.imgur.com/uQg4I.jpg

[tangent4ronpaul]

Anyone else notice how often controversial polls always end up ~+/- 1% of the 50% mark?

Like that ever happens in the real world.

:rolleyes:

[GunnyFreedom]

In other news, 51% of Americans hold a mass seance to try and bring Joseph Goebbels back from the dead.

[Anti Federalist]

About 53 percent of American women favor the NSA, while 49 percent of men do.

Women love them some big brother.

[muh_roads]

Everyone should do themselves a favor and watch the Edward Snowden documentary, "Citizenfour".
If you can pay to stream it now, I apologize for posting this. Pay for it if you can. But it is touring the country VERY slowly. Something this important can't wait, IMO. https://kickass.so/citizenfour-2014-720p-web-dl-aac2-0-h264-fgt-t10106068.html

If you don't believe in torrenting and there is no other way to view it, at least watch the Two-part Frontline special and spread it to everyone you can.

Part 1
http://video.pbs.org/video/2365245528/

Part 2
http://video.pbs.org/video/2365251169/

[GunnyFreedom]

Women love them some big brother.

Unfortunately, this is in my experience true. :(

[enhanced_deficit]

No Such Agency has better credibility than SWC:


For first time, Q-poll shows Obama now viewed as more dishonest than honest
"For the first time today, American voters say 52 - 44 percent that Obama is not honest and trustworthy."

Majority of Americans now believe Obama is "dishonest and untrustworthy" (http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?433586-Majority-of-Americans-now-believe-Obama-is-quot-dishonest-and-untrustworthy-quot&)

[GunnyFreedom]

No Such Agency has better credibility than SWC:


For first time, Q-poll shows Obama now viewed as more dishonest than honest
"For the first time today, American voters say 52 - 44 percent that Obama is not honest and trustworthy."

Majority of Americans now believe Obama is "dishonest and untrustworthy" (http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?433586-Majority-of-Americans-now-believe-Obama-is-quot-dishonest-and-untrustworthy-quot&)

In other news, 44 percent of Americans test out as "physically brain dead." Experts speaking on the condition of anonymity add that it's a mystery how they still have heartbeats, respiration, and vote.

[jmdrake]

Well that means that 49 percent are against the NSA. These 49% could cripple the NSA if we used encryption as much as possible for routine communications. I've loaded this on my smart phone.

https://whispersystems.org/

A +rep to anyone who is using, or is preparing to use, encrypted email, phone, text and/or chat.

Edward Snowden's and Genn Greenwald used CryptoCat to chat.

http://www.digitaltrends.com/features/encryption-just-need-use/
https://revolution-news.com/us-government-funds-favorite-nsa-proof-apps/
http://ultraculture.org/blog/2014/11/04/encryption-tools-protect-online-privacy/

CryptoCat was famously used by journalist Glenn Greenwald while he met with Snowden in Hong Kong in 2013. It’s a free chat program that can be installed in any browser. Developed by Nadin Kobeissi, CryptoCat was just an experiment when he created it in 2010 as a student at Concordia University in Montreal. Since CrpytoCat won a 2012 New York hackathon, Kobeissi has raised about $150,000 in grants to pay for professional developers to work on improvements to the software.

[AngryCanadian]

phoned by 1000 or so. Meh.

[AuH20]

51% of Americans don't think Aleister Crowley was a bad guy.

[TheTexan]

49% dont want our Nation to be Secure.

[RonPaulIsGreat]

Well, first you have to realize about 15% of the population is functionally illiterate. Second, around 35% are on welfare of one type or another. Of course most in the first group are in the second group. Third. About 7% of the population works for the government in one form or another. Then you now have Obamacare pulling in the working poor even more into the religion of government. Then of course, social security, which to many means government is saving grandma from starving. So, Really for over half the population, they have a constant bias to view the government favorably, simply because it is their means of survival.

There is no real path to reducing the scope of government going forward, the numbers don't add up, to many rely on the welfare state to ever really oppose it in a meaningful way. Vote, don't vote, you will NEVER NEVER get anywhere.

If Hillary gets elected (Most likely), she will certainly expand welfare and further push a radical feminist agenda.

IMO, it's over already really, just indeterminate date of expiration.

In order to reverse this progression towards an even larger welfare state (which leads to gov worship) you'd have to convince the over half the country living off the gov to give up their means of survival. NOT going to happen. The transition to a parasitic class large than the host is already complete.

[GunnyFreedom]

51% of Americans don't think Aleister Crowley was a bad guy.
85% probably never heard of the guy and were going off of 'his name sounds cool.'

[TomKat]

Has anyone here actually ever taken a political-like poll? I have never even been asked. Do they have control groups that they keep using over and over in different polls or is it always a made up number?

[DamianTV]

Youre all forgetting that the questions that people are asked are not repeated when presented as a fact. They constantly twist these things to distort peoples perceptions. They may have asked something like "do you think we need a strong government to be secure?" to which a certain percentage will answer "yes" and a certain percentage will answer "no". However, once this data is compiled, the Question itself is completely changed, damn near to the point of irrelevancy. They will take all these "yes" answers and state "Americans support NSA Spying" even though it was NOT the question they asked to begin with. It is Group Think Psychology. If one individiual believes the majority, or even super majority of people have one opinion, they may very well change their own opinions to match those of the Perceived Group, even if the Percieved Group is a statistical question manipulating statistic.

What we need to be thinking is how the hell we got to this figure to begin with. Fuck Pew Polls, lets go directly to the people that were polled and ask them. Then we can understand how this manipulation works on the truly weak minded.

But for the NSA to have a five times higher approval rating than our Criminal Congress, whose biggest issue is the NSA, I not only call BULLSHIT but COMPLETE AND TOTAL FUCKING BULLSHIT.

Where is Frank Lutz?

[TomKat]

51% of Americans don't think Aleister Crowley was a bad guy.

I like the story about how he is the father of Barbara Pierce. They look just like each other too.

[AuH20]

I like the story about how he is the father of Barbara Pierce. They look just like each other too.

Boleskine House on the shore of Loch Ness is even more spookier. I don't know what he was up to, but it probably wasn't something most mortal souls could ultimately endure...

[Mani]

The PEW also neglected to mention 40% of the participants in the poll were family and friends of the NSA.


The under 30 crowd gave a 61% favorable rating of the NSA!?! I smell a fat fuck named Frank Lutz somewhere hiding behind this. He must be giving "how to make bullshit polls and make them sound real" seminars and PEW seems to be a regular customer.

[DamianTV]

The PEW also neglected to mention 40% of the participants in the poll were family and friends of the NSA.


The under 30 crowd gave a 61% favorable rating of the NSA!?! I smell a fat fuck named Frank Lutz somewhere hiding behind this. He must be giving "how to make bullshit polls and make them sound real" seminars and PEW seems to be a regular customer.

Post #20 comrade!

[TheTexan]

Youre all forgetting that the questions that people are asked are not repeated when presented as a fact. They constantly twist these things to distort peoples perceptions. They may have asked something like "do you think we need a strong government to be secure?" to which a certain percentage will answer "yes" and a certain percentage will answer "no". However, once this data is compiled, the Question itself is completely changed, damn near to the point of irrelevancy.

Source? I think you're just in denial that these are the general public's actual opinions.


They will take all these "yes" answers and state "Americans support NSA Spying" even though it was NOT the question they asked to begin with.

In a separate poll that is also fairly recent...

"Q: As you may know, it has been reported that the National Security Agency has been getting secret court orders to track telephone call records of MILLIONS of Americans in an effort to investigate terrorism. Would you consider this access to telephone call records an acceptable or unacceptable way for the federal government to investigate terrorism?"

Acceptable: 56%
Unacceptable 41%

"Q: What do you think is more important right now - (for the federal government to investigate possible terrorist threats, even if that intrudes on personal privacy); or (for the federal government not to intrude on personal privacy, even if that limits its ability to investigate possible terrorist threats)?"

INVESTIGATE THREATS EVEN IF IT INTRUDES ON PRIVACY: 62%
NOT INTRUDE EVEN IF IT LIMITS ABILITY TO INVESTIGATE THREATS: 34%

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/polling/majority-says-nsa-tracking-phone-records/2015/01/21/96049508-d20c-11e2-9577-df9f1c3348f5_page.html

[tangent4ronpaul]

Youre all forgetting that the questions that people are asked are not repeated when presented as a fact. They constantly twist these things to distort peoples perceptions. They may have asked something like "do you think we need a strong government to be secure?" to which a certain percentage will answer "yes" and a certain percentage will answer "no". However, once this data is compiled, the Question itself is completely changed, damn near to the point of irrelevancy. They will take all these "yes" answers and state "Americans support NSA Spying" even though it was NOT the question they asked to begin with. It is Group Think Psychology. If one individiual believes the majority, or even super majority of people have one opinion, they may very well change their own opinions to match those of the Perceived Group, even if the Percieved Group is a statistical question manipulating statistic.

What we need to be thinking is how the hell we got to this figure to begin with. Fuck Pew Polls, lets go directly to the people that were polled and ask them. Then we can understand how this manipulation works on the truly weak minded.

But for the NSA to have a five times higher approval rating than our Criminal Congress, whose biggest issue is the NSA, I not only call BULLSHIT but COMPLETE AND TOTAL FUCKING BULLSHIT.

Where is Frank Lutz?

This is PEW guy. Go to their site and find the long form for the research. They completely break down everything and publish their polling methodology. You are not backing up your accusations.

These surveys are also a anomaly. a statistical blip on a timeline that corresponds exactly with the Charlie Hebdo attacks. They will return to their normal trajectory after a few more Snowden revelations.

-t

[moostraks]

Source? I think you're just in denial that these are the general public's actual opinions.



In a separate poll that is also fairly recent...

"Q: As you may know, it has been reported that the National Security Agency has been getting secret court orders to track telephone call records of MILLIONS of Americans in an effort to investigate terrorism. Would you consider this access to telephone call records an acceptable or unacceptable way for the federal government to investigate terrorism?"

Acceptable: 56%
Unacceptable 41%

"Q: What do you think is more important right now - (for the federal government to investigate possible terrorist threats, even if that intrudes on personal privacy); or (for the federal government not to intrude on personal privacy, even if that limits its ability to investigate possible terrorist threats)?"

INVESTIGATE THREATS EVEN IF IT INTRUDES ON PRIVACY: 62%
NOT INTRUDE EVEN IF IT LIMITS ABILITY TO INVESTIGATE THREATS: 34%

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/polling/majority-says-nsa-tracking-phone-records/2015/01/21/96049508-d20c-11e2-9577-df9f1c3348f5_page.html

CFR is discussing the apparent evidence of the effectiveness of the 4th branch's ISIS/IS/ISIL propaganda and what measures will be necessary for reaching the other 49% in reeducation camps.

[Acala]

I would be shocked if 50% of the American public had even a clue what the NSA is.

[Mani]

I would be shocked if 50% of the American public had even a clue what the NSA is.



Good point. Once in a while I check out a bit by Jimmy Kimmel where he asks fake news to people. He said normally it takes hours to find enough dumb people (my words) to make one of those 4 minute bits.

It was Martin Luther King Day and so he asked the fake news question, "What did you think of Martin Luther King's speech today?" He said it took them literally minutes to film this one. They asked 14 people and 7 people was all it took.

The interviewer is egging them on like, "Didn't he look like he gained a lot of weight?"


It's a small sample size, but if it only takes a few minutes to find 7 people who either don't know who Martin Luther King is, or that he's been dead for almost 50 years, I guess I shouldn't expect them to have an informed opinion on the NSA.



I bet they could all tell you what Kim Kardashian ate for breakfast though...

[Weston White]

Ray Peterson: Remember what you were saying about people in the 'burbs, Art, people like Skip, people who mow their lawn for the 800th time, and then SNAP? WELL, THAT'S US. IT'S NOT THEM, THAT'S US. WE'RE the ones who are vaulting over the fences, and peeking in through people's windows. We're the ones who are THROWING GARBAGE IN THE STREET, AND LIGHTING FIRES. WE'RE THE ONES WHO ARE ACTING SUSPICIOUS AND PARANOID, ART. WE'RE THE LUNATICS. US. IT'S NOT THEM. It's us.

Art Wiengartner: [after a pause] I don't know what to say... What, do you want me to move?

Ray Peterson: [chanting] I'm not going to listen to this, I'm not going to hear this now.

Art: Ray! Ray! You're chanting!

Art: Ray, unconscious chanting! You're chanting!

Ray Peterson: [continues chanting with fingers in ears]

Art: [chants] I want to kill everyone. Satan is good. Satan is our pal.

Art: Hey, once they get in here... [points to Ray's head]

Art: ...it's over, pal.

—The Burbs

[Occam's Banana]

Anyone else notice how often controversial polls always end up ~+/- 1% of the 50% mark?

Like that ever happens in the real world.

:rolleyes:

Actually, this sort of thing is not surprising at all. Other things equal, democracy naturally tends to this kind of result.

In part, this is attributable to what it means to say that something is "controversial." Something that falls out at 90% vs. 10% is ipso facto not particularly "controversial" - or, at least, not nearly as "controversial" as something that falls out at 51% vs. 49%.

And then there is the fact that one of the essential characteristics of democracy is the enablement of the exploitation of the minority by the majority. Such exploitations are "maximized" when the "winning" group is as small as it can be and still be the "winning" group (51%) and the "losing" group is as large as it can be and still be the "losing" group (49%).